Chain



Jan. -13, 1931. .E. F. SPEIDEL 8 CHAIN Filed March 6, 1950lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll ll 3! l IIIUQ. Ii

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lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll ll INVENTOR.

M A TTORNEYS.

Patented Jan. 13, 1931 unite!) s'ra'rr;sv

Application filed March-6, 1930. se m No. 433,733.

This invention-relates to a chain ofth'e type used for bracelets, watchstraps and the like; and has forits object to provide a.

construction, each of the links of which is identical, with parts of'onelink directly connecting with parts of the next link. v

A further object of the invention is to provide a construction which maybe of plated stock with its inner and outer exposed por- 1o tionscovered with the plate of the'stock to enhance and cause it to maintainits ap pearance.

A further object of the invention is to provide the bracelet of openwork construction, which may be formed by bending and swaging asdistinguished from cutting pieces from sheet stock. a I With these andother objects and advantageous features in view, the invention consistsof a novelarra'ngement of parts more fully disclosed in the detaileddescription following, in conjunction with the accoinpanying drawings,and more particularly set forth in the appended claims.

In the drawings: 7 F'g. 1 is a top planview of a portion of the chain; r

Fig. 2 is a bottom view thereof; Fig. 3 is a plan View of two linksbefore being bent into finished position;

F ig. 4 is a side elevation'of thechain; Fig. 5 is a central section onthe line 5-5 of Figure 1; V

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one of the links bent into U-form;

Fig. 7 is a perspective View illustrating a further operation offlattening the cross piece between the arms; 1

Fig. Sis a perspective view showing the body or cross piece between thearms as notched;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing the studs or trunnions as formedthereon asbeing rounded and the holes pierced in the .arms;

Figs. 10 and 11 are sections on the lines 10-10 and 11-11 respectivelyof Figure 8-, showing the stock as of a plated construction. 7

It is found desirable to form a bracelet illustrates apiece of wirefoldedinto U-shape PA EN OFFICE 1 chain, of such construction as'toleave openings therethroughto permit the'flesh to be exposed through thebracelet when worn upon the arm; and in order to provide sucha'construction which will be thin and comfortable upon the wristand onewhich may have aplatedsurf-aceon its exposedparts, I have bent a pieceofplated wire into U-shapepdisplaced the stock by flattening thecrosspiece between the U arms and have then suitably notched thisflattened portion to provide studs to extend into holes in the arms tohingedly connect a the adjacent ,gli'nks together; and the following isa detailed dc scription of thepresent embodiment of this 5 invention 1illustrating the preferred means by which these advantageous results maybe accomplished; 1 v v lVith reference to the drawings, Figure .6

with arms 11. and a cross, piecejorbar. 12; The bar 12 isflattenedbysWagingQas illustratedatu13,{and-at the same time the-arms 14: aretapered, as shown in Figure 7.

, Notches 15 are cut in the body to leave-studs 16 which aresuitablyrounded as at'17, to be received inopenings 18 adjacent the endsof the tapered arms 14,1a-sillustrated in Figure 9, whereby a chain isformedas illustrated in'rFigures 1 and 2. I In joining thelinkstogether, the arms'jlt are at first diverging, as illustrated inFigure 3,.which allows themlto be snapped-by the spring. ofv the stockover the round ins 17, :after which they are bent inwardlyby 5 suitableoperations-so asto be in line as'illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. Theflattening of the'cross' piece 12 to form the body 13 displaces thestock from the top of the link and leaves the bottom 19 smooth, asillustrated in Figure 2, in order not to-form any sharp edges or unevensurfacewhich might be. uncomfortable to the arm when worn.

From the above construction and from Figures 10 and 11, it will beobserved that I have preservedtheouter plated surface 20 of the wirefrom which the link was formed by'fthe ends-1820f the wire extendinglthere into. Each of the ends'is,'however, suitably curvedlongitudinally to conform to the curved as at 21 to allow for greaterfiexishape of the arm.

bility of the structure.

Various appearances of the chain so con structed may be obtained byvariously shaping the cross bar 12 or the arms 11 to provide a varietyof appearances.

While I have described certain construction forms which embody theprinciples of my 1nvent1on, it is obvious that other des red changes inarrangement may be made wlthin the spiritand the scope of the inventionasdelined in the appended claims.

lclaimz. 1. A chain comprising a series or" links, each link generally Ushape'and of a single piece or" wire, the crosspiece between the arms ofthe 13 being flattened to be generally in the plane ofthe chain andhaving notches cut laterally inwardly from its edge to leave studs, theopposite arms of the U havingrecesse's to receive said studs andhingedly connect the'links together. I e

2. A chain comprising a series of links, each link generally U-shape andof a single piece of wire, the cross piece between the arms of the Ubeing flattened to be generally in the'plane of the chain and havingnotches cut laterally inwardly from its'edge and ad 7 jacent theend ofthe U to leave studs between .the notch and the end thereof, theopposite arms of the U having recesses adjacent their ends to receivesaid studs and hingedly connectthe links together.

, 8. A-chain comprising a series of links,

each link generally U-shape and of a single.

piece ofwire, the cross piecebetween the arms-of the U being flattenedto be generally in the plane ofthe chain and having notches cutlaterally inwardly fromits edge to leave studs, the oppositearms of theU having recesses to receive said studs and hingedly connect the linkstogether, said arms having their width lying in a plane at right anglesto the plane of the flattened portion;

.4. A chain comprising a series of links, each link enerally U-shape andof a single piece of wire, the cross piece between the arms of the Ubeing flattened to begenerally in the plane of the chain and havingnotches cut laterally inwardly from its edge to leave studs, theopposite arms of the U having holes to receive said studs and hingedlyconnect the links together, said arms being tapered from their endstoward the cross piece.

5. A chain comprising a series of links, each link generally U-shape andof'a single piece of wire, the cross piece between the arms of the Ubeing flattened to be generally in tlie plane of the chain and havingnotches cut laterally inwardly from its edge to leave studs, theopposite arms of the U having holes to receive said studs and hingedlyconnect. the links together, said arms being tapered from their endstoward thecross piece and EDWIN r. M.;sPE1DEL.

